Outokumpu ferrochrome plant, Finland

The highly abrasive and sticky nature of the sludge from one of the gas scrubbers at Outokumpu makes it very challenging to dewater. The plant has used Alfa Laval decanters for this task for many years and since 2012 three Alfa Laval P2-600 decanter centrifuges dewater the sludge. The plant personnel are very satisfied with the high cake dryness.

In a closed-loop cooling system, high-quality water is cooled in a secondary cooling system, which consists of plate heat exchangers cooled by seawater, river water or a water from a nearby cooling tower, which:

Reduces maintenance due to the use of easy-to-maintain Alfa Laval plate heat exchangers

Lowers pumping costs because pumps only need to overcome the static head of the process equipment rather than the full cooling tower

Air cooling

An effective alternative to cooling towers, Alfa Laval air coolers combine high efficiency with low electricity consumption and noise levels. Closed-loop air cooling systems eliminate both the problems and costs associated with water treatment.

Dust and sludge removal

Dust and sludge recovered throughout various steel processes by means of centrifugal separation can be highly corrosive and abrasive. Alfa Laval separation technologies are designed with corrosion- and wear-resistant materials to ensure continuous operation in the harshest environments.